Afghan provincial governor and Taliban agree on ceasefire

The governor of Afghanistan’s Badgis province and the Taliban have agreed an informal ceasefire to end fighting in the provincial capital city of Kala-i-Nau. Governor Hasmudin Shams said a ceasefire between security and defense forces and the Taliban group entered into force in the provincial capital, Kala-e-Nav city, starting at 10 a.m. today.
However, Governor Shams said that no written agreement had been reached on the ceasefire and that the ceasefire was informal.

The ceasefire entered into force with the mediation of the elders of the city of Kala-e-Nau, the governor said, and I expect the Taliban to remain committed to an oral agreement.

The official said that with no timetable for an oral agreement aimed at ending the conflict, he expects the ceasefire to turn into a permanent ceasefire.
It is the first time that a provincial government and the Taliban have agreed on a ceasefire as the terrorist group progresses and captures more than 120 districts since the start of a US military withdrawal from Afghanistan in early May.

Continuing their efforts to capture Kala-e-Nau over the past week, Taliban militants now control all districts in Badgis province.

The ceasefire comes amid demands by the Taliban to release 7,000 prisoners from Afghan government prisons and remove their leaders’ names from the UN blacklist as a precondition for observing a three-month ceasefire with the government. .

First Vice President Amrullah Saleh had previously rejected the demand, saying the government had released more than 5,000 Taliban detainees as a goodwill gesture to encourage the group to engage in meaningful dialogue.

But the negotiation process has been in limbo since September 12 last year.